The Process Of Australia’s Engagement And Integration With Asia(1972-2012)

Australia is a European country which is misplaced in Asia. Geographically speaking, Australia is very far away from Europe, and so close to the East Asian nations that it can be thought of as the natural extension of Southeast Asia. Historically and culturally speaking, Australia is without doubt a Western country. The society, the culture, the political system and the life style of Australia all originate from Britain and Australian culture can be considered as the result of the localization of the British culture. It is inevitable for Australia to solve the contradiction between its geographical location and its history and culture, and to change its identity from being the oversea territory of Europe to becoming an Asia-Pacific country. During the colonial times, when Europe could dominate the fate of Asia, Australia could resort to turning its back to Asia and being attached to Britain so as to avoid its identity dilemma. However, when the focus of the world power is gradually transferred from Europe to Asia, it is a must for Australia to face up to the existence of Asia and carefully think of its own position in Asia. Facing up to and engaging with Asia are the best ways for Australia to overcome the conflict between its geographical location and its history and culture. Nevertheless, Australia’s engagement with Asia encounters with the resistance from both its internal environment and Asia. It is essential for Australia to engage with Asia in a steady and successful way. This dissertation follows the timeframe starting from Whitlam administration’s beginning to engage with Asia in1972. It focuses on the major initiatives taken by the previous Australian administrations during its engagement with Asia. It analyzes the motives, obstacles and prospects of Australia’s engagement with Asia under the circumstances at its home and abroad at that time, and especially under the background of the focus of the world power transferring from Europe to Asia. It tries to present a panoramic view of Australia’s engagement with Asia through revealing the formation, development process and characteristics of its strategy of the engagement with Asia.Australia’s engagement with Asia experiences the progressive process from being one-dimensional to becoming multi-dimensional and from being vague to becoming clear-cut. Before the breakout of the Second World War, Australia took the policies of turning its back to Asia and circumventing Asia, totally ignoring its close neighbor Asia. After WWII ended, Australia began to pay attention to Asia’s barrier function out of the consideration of its own security. During the end of1960s and the beginning of1970s, both America and Britain performed the strategic contraction and People’s Republic of China and America began their diplomatic contacts, which meant that Australia’s external environment had deeply changed. In order to adapt itself to the changed international and regional conditions, Whitlam administration transferred its diplomatic focus from Europe to Asia-Pacific region and formally started its process of engagement with Asia. In1980s, the focus of Australia’s foreign trade was also transferred from Europe to Asia because of the taking off of Asian economies and the trade prosperity between Australia and Asia. After the Cold War ended, Prime Minister Keating put forth the target of the full integration with Asia, which proposed that Australia should engage with Asia economically, and at the same time, it should have the identity of an Asia-Pacific country. Although the conservative Howard administration had two minds in its policy of the engagement with Asia, the engagement had become a popular idea and could not be reversed. Entering the21st century, Australia hopes to become the European country that knows Asia most, engage with Asia in the Asian Century, and enter the new historical phase of its engagement with Asia. With the concerted efforts of the administrations, Australia’s engagement with Asia changes from being vacillating and vague to becoming mature, steady and clear. The engagement is no longer focused only on the singular field of economic and trade investment, but instead it is comprehensively developed in the fields of regional cooperation, security and defense, cultural exchanges and identity. During the process of Australia’s engagement with Asia, the relationship between Australia and Asia changes from being mutually ignorant to becoming interdependent. The mutual misunderstanding and the illusion are decreasing and the mutual trust and the sense of "us" are improving.It can be concluded from the analysis of and the induction from Australia’s engagement with Asia:firstly, the engagement is the means instead of the aim. Australia does not want to detach itself from Europe and integrate into Asia. Instead, it hopes to raise its level of competition and reestablish the national identity through its engagement. Secondly, economic motive is the major driving force for the engagement, but it is not the only force. Australia also considers finding strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific region, creating favorable external environment, guaranteeing its national security and improving its international status. Thirdly, the engagement is not the utilitarian and tactic policy adjustment, but the long-term and strategic diplomatic transition. It is the theme of the development of the world civilizations and the internal requirement of the economic globalization. Although it will never become a complete Asian country, Australia will be inevitably Asianized. Though the engagement will face up to many obstacles, it is an irreversible general trend under the background of the speedy transferring of the focus of the world power from Europe to Asia.